*A/N* Hey everyone! So, finally, you get to see a little of the fiesty Sarah that we all know and love. I bet you were all starting to get worried. We also get to skip ahead a bit and see a bit more about Sarah's magic and it's implications. Shoutouts to: Coralline (love your epic reviews), reader, Ikuni Hattori (a very enthusiastic review), notwritten, Raiast, and Freahd87. Love to read all of you guys' reviews! Enjoy!

Chapter 14

"I understand your irritation, Love, but I truly do not know of their whereabouts." Jareth said, watching as a leather-clad Sarah spun a crystal across her long, black-tipped fingers. The mist within was gradually changing color from blue to purple to red and back again. In the week since Sarah had discovered her powers, Jareth had learned that the color within her crystals was intimately tied to her emotion. The combination of red, blue and purple was always annoyance. "I really have tried." He said, tossing his own crystal in the air and catching it repeatedly. One thing Jareth had also learned quickly was how important having his own crystal was when faced with an argument against her.

"I suppose you have." She said, looking up at him at last. Jareth let his own crystal dissipate as he saw hers vanish from her hands. His decision had been confirmed about her being chosen as a ruler when her magic had developed more fully – it truly rivaled his own. He looked at her again, a smile playing on his lips as he watched her lounge in a chair in their study – her undershirt unbuttoned just enough to drive him crazy. As much as he had loved her delicate and gentle appearance when she had first arrived, he certainly loved her sultry, Goblin Queen look much better. She was breath-taking like this.

"Tell me again what we have found." Sarah said, sitting up properly.

"Their disappearance several months ago was not well-noted, unfortunately, because we knew they were traveling in the Underground. I believe they were accosted at about the time you stopped hearing from them."

"Why would the Deepgrounders kidnap Didymus, Ludo and Hoggle?" Sarah asked.

"Because they are Deepgrounders, Sarah. The three of them were Deepgrounders whose families surrendered during the last war and begged not to be returned to the Deepground. They were among the best of their kind, but they are not magical beings – only creatures who the Labyrinth liked very much. They and the Fierys live in the Labyrinth because the Goblins do not always treat them kindly because of their heritage." Sarah looked pensive for a moment.

"So, perhaps the Deepgrounders are trying to gather intel about the Underground through my friends." She said simply, sitting back and summoning another crystal, which filled with dark blue mist. If she was perturbed or surprised, Jareth mused, she hid it well. Jareth and Sarah had sat in silence for several moments before Jareth felt it – a stirring in his consciousness very like that he experienced when he was being called by a wisher. He looked at Sarah, but she was still calmly twirling the crystal in her hands.

"Sarah, do you feel that?" Jareth watched as she looked up and shook her head. He immediately stood and held out his hand to her. "This isn't a wisher. It's a alarm – the sentries!" He said, taking her hand and pulling her to him as he spun the crystal she handed to him and they disappeared.

When Sarah opened her eyes, she and Jareth were standing in the forests at the edge of the Labyrinth. Around her, the five other rulers had materialized as well. They were looking at her a bit peculiarly, but Sarah paid them no mind. Now that she was close, she too could feel the energy emulating from this place due to the spell the other rulers had placed upon it.

Jareth pulled her by the hand and the seven of them knelt in the bushes near a small circle of stones. Sarah watched as two figures materialized in the center. They were dark figures, both covered in rich, dark brown fur and holding small torches. Just as had been planned, Sarah watched as Jareth held up his crystal in his hand and conjured her own, which was filled with a dark black mist. Together, they threw the crystals forward toward the stone circle and Jareth's exploded in a flash of light as Sarah's enveloped the two figures in black smoke as thick as soot. It was then that the others rushed forward. Nemesis restrained the flailing Deepgrounders while the others sealed the entrance to the Deepground as best they could. It was Sarah who conjured a red and black filled crystal and hurled it at the restrained Deepgrounders, sending them to the Goblin Castle Dungeons, and leaving the other rulers , except Morpheus, dumbstruck.

"You're magic is developing nicely, Sarah." He said, approaching her and kissing the back of her hand.

"Thank you, Morpheus."

"Your powers still mimic Jareth's?"

"Very much. Subtle differences only." Jareth took Sarah's hand as she walked beside Morpheus.

"Any signs of her taking on a Loki form like yours, Brother?"

"None yet." Jareth replied. "But I think she will. We actually have a pool going as to what her Loki form will be. I believe her form will be a Robin, as her most suppressed trait is her undying hope and ability to bring happiness to the lives of others."

"I believe my form will be the Blue Jay." Sarah said, smiling.

"There are also bets of the Magpie and the Dove. Care to join in the betting?" Jareth asked, as he held open a path through the Labyrinth as the seven rulers made their way toward the castle.

"Owl." Morpheus said, moving ahead of Jareth and Sarah to hold open the castle doors. Sarah didn't see it that trait within herself, but she saw Jareth's smile. Inside the castle, the seven rulers sat down around the same round table as they had a week before.

"Who guards the prisoners at your castle, Jareth?" Ondine asked, rounding on him before they could fully take their seats.

"My wraiths." Nemesis replied, eyeing Ondine coldly.

"Enough with the petty squabbling." Jareth said, causing Nemesis and Ondine to look up at him. Sarah leaned forward and looked around at the rulers.

"Do you think they are scouts?" She asked, looking to Coeus.

"Yes, that would be my guess, Lady Sarah."

"Have there been any more signs?" Geoffry asked, looking from Jareth to her.

"I haven't experienced any, but my mortality is slipping away too quickly."

"That it is." Jareth said, reaching out and taking her hand beneath the table as Sarah looked up at Nemesis – this time without flinching at her cold stare. "We do have a displaced young child with us still, however."

"Her nursemaids tell us that she wakes up screaming every night – several times a night as of late." Sarah said, drumming her fingers on the table.

"And what of Sarah's new powers?" Ondine asked, looking pointedly from Sarah to Jareth.

"What of them? The Underground magic is creating a place for her in this world." Jareth said calmly, but Sarah saw him narrowing his eyes at Ondine.

"Are you quite certain of that, Jareth? Her powers are so like yours – what if it a manipulation of by the Deepgrounders?"

"Ondine." Jareth began, as Sarah saw him roll his eyes. Even she could tell that this was just Ondine's way of trying to manipulate the truth from Jareth. "Sarah's powers mirror mine because both I and the Underground Magic have chosen her as a ruler in the Goblin Kingdom. She waits only on the will of the people and the other rulers."

"Jareth? You will take a queen?" Ondine asked, feigning ignorance.

"Stop playing coy, Ondine. We all know that Jareth never really won his freedom from the powers of your realm. Now, we have more important things to do." Sarah snapped, leaning forward toward the Queen of Desire, whose eyes were gleaming mischievously. "Jareth and I will interrogate the prisoners with the help of Nemesis's wraiths, but we will call on any of you should we need your assistance. Is that agreeable?" The other rulers nodded their heads, but Ondine stared on – malice having replaced mischief in her gaze.

"Now, I suppose you all have something else to consider as well. We await your choice of her as a ruler in this world – and I believe it would be advantageous to have this settled and to have a seventh ruler should we need to go to war."

"When will you be interrogating the prisoners?" Coeus asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Tonight. We will give him a bit of a stay with the Wraiths first." Sarah replied, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the table.

"Very well. You will contact us when you know more?"

"Of course." It was as Sarah stood with Jareth to see their guests out that Morpheus approached her.

"Lady Sarah," He said, more formally than usual, "Let it be known that you have the blessing of Dreams and the permission of the Loukai to be a ruler of the Underground. May you be led as surely by intuition as you are by logic." As he spoke the words, he held his hand to her heart. From his extended fingertips, Sarah felt a peculiar sensation – as though warmth were spreading throughout her. When she looked down, she beheld a pendant and chain that appeared to be made of such a fine filigree of metal that they should break if she touched them, but they did not snap when she ran her hands across them. The metal in the pendant formed what appeared to Sarah to be three entwining spirals – it was nearly too delicate to tell. The rest of the rulers left without speaking to Sarah, but she saw Geoffry glance at her, a smile on his face as he left. Jareth turned to her and smiled a little.

"Like being thrown into the lions' den, isn't it?"

"A bit, but I think I did alright."

"That you did, Sarah. Now, are you hungry? We could go dress for dinner."

"Very."

One thing that Jareth liked very much was that Sarah still dressed for dinner like the delicate goddess she always had. The only difference was that now – on occasion – Jareth was the one tying the back of her dresses. Today, however, Sarah had retired back to her own chambers so that Baria could help her get ready for dinner in peace.

Jareth's mind wandered ceaselessly as he tried to get himself dressed for dinner. The pendant around Sarah's neck was proof beyond all doubt that she truly had been chosen by the Underground as his queen. Ondine seemed unhappy, but that was her way whenever she lost a good thrall to the throws of love. She would come around, just as she had when he was named king of the goblins. Jareth turned and looked into the mirror again – he could only hope to look acceptable beside such a beautiful queen as Sarah.

"A goblin queen." Jareth said aloud, testing the sound of those words. "Queen Sarah." Yes, he definitely liked the sound of that.

With one final glance in the mirror, Jareth turned and left the room. It took him several minutes to cross the myriad of corridors between his chambers and hers, and he was glad that she spent most of her time in his chambers now. For some reason, meeting her for dinner always made Jareth feel as though they were celebrating, even if – like now – there was very little to celebrate.

The Deepground prisoners were still being held in the dungeon, and after dinner he and Sarah would have to go down to interrogate them. He still supposed that they were scouts, but the whole situation made him very uneasy. The last time there had been a Deepground attack, his father had died defending the Goblin Kingdom that his brother-in-law had abandoned. That had also spelled the end of Jareth Sr. He had returned, assuming that he could regain his place of power after having fled the field, but he was wrong.

The Deepground had a pension for attacking the Goblin Kingdom first – its subjects possessed only weak magic and it always seemed like an easy target, but the Deepgrounders did not understand the magic of this world. Jareth knew that the Underground would never choose a Deepgrounder as a ruler and therefore, the Deepgrounders could never possess magic like that of he and the other six rulers.

Jareth paused outside the entrance to Sarah's chambers. He knew that the moment he saw her, he wouldn't want her to change after dinner and go to the dungeons – rather he would want to hold her and make love to her and never let her go. Never the less, Jareth raised his hand and drummed his fingers on the door.

Baria opened the door, but Jareth looked past her toward the beautiful young woman who stood looking out the window toward the Labyrinth. She wore a long, white dress that pooled at her feet. From behind, Jareth could see only that they dress was white – perfectly white but trimmed with gold on the sleeves and neckline and tied with an ornate gold belt. Her hair was straight today and cascaded down her back like silk. Jareth was sure that he could have stood in that place and watched her for the rest of his life.

"Jareth." She said, turning around so he could see her properly.

"You look lovely." Jareth said, offering her his hand as she crossed the room to meet him.

"You don't look too bad yourself."